Surfaces of many different types of products in many different industries and fields of use are often plagued by the negative effects of surface-attached communities of microorganisms called biofilms. For example, such biofilms often play a large role in causing and worsening infections of indwelling medical devices such as catheters, prosthetic cardiac valves, intrauterine devices, and the like.
Biofilms may also negatively affect various other industries including, e.g., transportation, petroleum, mining, paper milling, agriculture, food preparation and storage, power plants, and the like. For example, biofilms in marine engineering systems (e.g., pipelines of the offshore oil and gas industry) may cause substantial corrosion problems. Biofilms formed on boat hulls can lead to biofouling of seagoing vessels, which may reduce maximum vessel speed by up to 20%, thereby prolonging voyages and consuming additional amounts of fuel. Corrosion and mechanical removal of biofilms from ships' hulls may also reduce the useful life of ships.
Thus, there exists a need to reduce or eliminate biofilms of various surfaces in various industries.